As inauguration day fast approaches reports have emerged that Russian hackers have obtained compromising information about President-elect Donald Trump. The

Photo: Politico

As inauguration day fast approaches reports have emerged that Russian hackers have obtained compromising information about President-elect Donald Trump.

The report, published by CNN, is unsubstantiated and has been dismissed by Mr Trump as “fake news”. Despite this, given Trump’s controversial past, this development seems plausible – which in itself will harm the reputation of America’s next leader.

Beyond this headline, however, is the real story: hybrid cyber conflict has arrived and is shaping global events today. For years, experts had warned that humankind was on the verge of cyber warfare, where droves of cyber warriors hack into critical infrastructure and wreak havoc on the masses. However, more targeted cyber attacks can be just as powerful, if not more so.

Whether the Russian government does have compromising information about Mr Trump is, to some extent, irrelevant; the fact that millions of people around the world awoke to this news on Wednesday morning is not.